Soldier fresh and ready

Trainer Aidan O'Brien claims Soldier Of Fortune is fresh and raring to go in Saturday night's Breeders' Cup Turf.

Last year's Irish Derby hero dead-heated for third in the Arc at Longchamp earlier this month and is expected to come close at Santa Anita.

His high-class form over 12 furlongs in Europe has seen him installed as the morning line favourite for the big race across the pond.

Soldier Of Fortune has had only three starts so far this season, and O'Brien is very happy with his charge.

"We think he's a very good horse," he said. "He gets a mile-and-a-half well. He's a very good-moving horse. He handles fast ground and soft ground. He's fresh and we're happy with him."

Responded

One of the main challengers to Soldier Of Fortune is likely to be Red Rocks, who took the race when trained by Brian Meehan back in 2006.

The five-year-old son of Galileo got his first look at Santa Anita on Wednesday morning with a once-around jog and a trip to the paddock to get familiar with his new surroundings.

"He's been doing super," said current handler Mark Hennig, who took charge of the colt in August.

"We've gotten a few solid works into him the last few weeks. We were under the gun timing-wise, that's the hand we were dealt, but he has responded really well."

Sir Michael Stoute's Conduit and Dermot Weld's Winchester also run in Saturday's big race, and they cantered at Santa Anita on Wednesday.